Cordelia the Vampire Slayer
by Angeladdict
Summary: The words Vampire Slayer and Cordelia Chase shouldn't be combined in the same sentence. Let alone one person.  Angel/Cordelia  unknown other pairings
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaime**r:_ I own nothing_

**Author's Note**: _This is one of my old stories I looked at and thought I would post. Review if you enjoy. If you hate it, don't tell me. I'll cry. :)_

Cordelia walked into the school, purposefully, inwardly her stomach churning.

It was the first day back to school and she had finally decided to try it. She was at the end of her rope and had no other options.

She banged the door to the library open and strode through them. She cringed involuntarily when she spotted Giles in the corner, messing with his dusty old books.

Cordelia walked over to him, hesitantly and tapped his shoulder.

"Gahhhh!" He exclaimed, swinging around.

"Geez, wound tight enough?" She asked, amused.

"Hello, Cordelia. It's ...nice to see you again."

"Right back at 'cha, bookworm." She smiled, smacking her gum.

There was a short silence, and then Giles cleared his throat.

"Yes, well what are you doing here so early, Cordelia? Class doesn't begin for another hour."

Cordelia glanced at her nails and shifted her feet awkwardly.

"Well, ya see. I kinda need to er ...talk...to you."

"Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

She twiddled her thumbs. "Yeeeaaahh. See ever since ...you know that stuff that happened on the Spring Fling. Well I've been feeling weird. Like really weird. I dunno what it is. I've been having freaky dreams. And I feel . . . stronger I guess. I'm worried I caught some freaky Hellmouth disease. And here's the strangest part! A few days ago, on my vacation; this weird, really cute English guy found me. He started talking about vampires and Chosen or something. I told him to get his ass out or I was calling security." She paused and looked at him expectantly. "So ...any ideas? Is this something Hellmouthy?"

Giles gaped at her for a minute and began babbling. " This can't be possible! Not yo- It's impossible! And yet..."

She rolled her eyes impatiently. "English, Giles. You're not making any sense."

He took off his glasses and began polishing them vigorously. "I-" He began.

"Finally!" The doors burst open and a tall nerdy, yet handsome man with glasses and a tweed suit, marched towards them.

Cordelia gasped in recognition and tapped Giles eagerly. He recoiled at her touch.

"That's him! The English guy!"

The English man, breathing heavily, walked over to the pair.

"Wesley Wyndham Pryce." He said, sticking his hand out at Giles.

He shook it, recovering from his puzzlement. "Rupert Giles. May I inquire what business you have here?"

Wesley said "I have rather _urgent _business with Miss Chase."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow speculatively.

He nodded somewhat haughtily. Then he glanced back over to Giles.

"You are Miss Summers ...ahem" he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "_Watcher_."

Giles nodded slowly, looking bewildered.

"The council has sent me. I am Miss Chase's Watcher."

Cordelia and Giles stared at Wesley blankly.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm a vampire Slayer?" Cordelia yelled at the top of her voice. Some girls squeaked or went quiet when they were stunned; Cordelia got loud.

"Miss Chase, please keep your voice down. If someone were to overhear-"

"No way! _Buffy's_ the Slayer, not me!" Cordelia argued.

Giles cleared his throat, "It is an awkward situation. Buffy was _technically_ dead for a short amount of time. It is logical to assume that the next Slayer was called. But . . .Cordelia?"  
>"Hey! I could be a damn good Slayer!" she objected.<p>

"We do not attempt to understand why a certain Slayer is chosen. We simply assist her as best as we can. The council wishes for Miss Chase to train alongside your Slayer. She may continue her studies here, unless problems arise. I'm sure Miss Summers will welcome her help."  
>"No. No! I don't <em>want<em> to be a Slayer! I'll just return it." she spluttered.

Giles smiled exasperatedly. "You can't return an ancient destiny, Cordelia."

"Then I'll give it to someone else. Hey . . . how bout Willow? She helps Buffy and she's into the girl power stuff." Cordelia suggested weakly.

Wesley ignored her, "You can start training after school, four o' clock sharp. Class should starting soon. Good day."

With that he had dismissed her and turned to Giles. "I think we should start discussing schedules and the like. It's the first time in all of my research that two Slayers have existed in the same time period. It will be fascinating to see how they interact. It'll-"

Fuming at being dismissed, Cordelia grabbed her bag and stormed away from the English pair. Her mind was working at double speed, trying to process everything. This would change everything. Her entire life.

Look at Buffy. She could have been near Cordelia on the social ladder if she hadn't been a Slayer. Now she was ultra-freak.

She set her jaw. There was no way that was happening to her. She would just ignore the entire situation. Sunnyhell already had a Slayer. They didn't need Cordelia. It was a mistake. That was all.

She managed to get through all of her classes okay. To avoid meaningless gossip, she pretended to pay attention to her teachers.

When the bell rang during social studies her muscles contracted and her heartbeat increased. Lunch was next and she'd be unable to avoid her "friends" chatter and questions. She slowly got out of her desk and crammed her books into her bag. Then she made a face as an idea hit her.

She _could _take her lunch into the library and talk to Giles. Straighten things out. Cordelia wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea, but if no one saw her go in . . .

She sighed and marched out of class, and down the hallway. She rarely bought lunch, preferring to have her cook make her a perfectly balanced meal of fruits, vegetables, salad, and the occasional yogurt. _If _she was feeling indulgent.

When she entered the library, the first thing she noticed was Wesley in the book cage. He appeared to be rifling through a chest intently. Cordelia glanced around and then crept towards him.

He was so focused on his rifling, he didn't notice the creak of the gate/door when she opened it. She settled herself onto a small bookcase and laid out her lunch.

As she bit into an apple, she asked casually, "So, where's Giles?"

Wesley gave a terrific shriek and and swung around to face her, hands raised. Cordelia raised an eyebrow at his reaction.

"He's uh ...not here. Something about his calendar." Wesley said, pressing a hand against his heart as an effort to slow his breathing.

Cordelia's eyes widened. "Oh! He must have meant Miss Calender! He totally has a major crush on her." She added knowledgeably.

Wesley nodded slowly and straightened up. "I see."

She took another delicate bite of her apple. "So I have just a couple quick questions about this whole Slayer thing."

Wesley didn't have a chance to respond.

"Okay. First of all ... what exactly am I _required_ to do? I mean we already have Buffy. Do we really _need_ another Slayer?" Cordelia wheedled.

Wesley frowned at her. "Well a Slayer has many duties. These include protecting mankind from the forces of darkness; Vampyres and the like. You'll have to patrol and help thin the population. You have to train as often as possible to be fit for your job." He glanced back at her. "You should be completely devoted to your duties. You are no longer a teenage girl, but a weapon to be used to protect the human population. You have to give up who you were before you were called."

Cordelia stared at him for a long moment. "I can't do that." She finally said. It was a simple statement and she said nothing further. She tossed her apple into a wastebasket nearby and then jumped off of her perch.

Without a word she walked briskly out of the cage and Wesley watched her disappear from his line of sight.

Giles entered the library to see Wesley muttering to himself and pacing back and forth. Giles gave a small sigh and walked towards him. He really needed a vacation.

"Is something the matter?"

Wesley turned to him, startled. He cleared his throat and said unconvincingly, "No. Not really."

Giles waited.

"Well, you see. It's just. Well this is rather hard, isn't it?"

Giles smiled at this, and waited.

"Miss Chase is just being a little difficult. She seems to have a rather strong personality and she doesn't want to necessarily comply."

Giles chuckled lightly. "Why don't you explain what happened?"

"You told her she was just a weapon?" He asked incredulously.

Wesley fidgeted with his coat. "Well I was a bit more tactful than that."

Giles rolled his eyes. "She's a teenage girl. You'll have to be much more than tactful. You'll get used to her eventually. Until then, be very careful what and how you say things to Cordelia."

* * *

><p>She got through all of her classes, doodling absently and staring out the window lost in thought. Her friends started to worry about her, as she was uncharacteristically quiet. She breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her car, glad to be alone.<p>

She was in a definite slump when she reached her house, dumping her things in her room and flopping onto her huge bed in the center of the room. The room had a large window in the back of the window, which opened into a small balcony. The curtains were never shut, as Cordelia loved a well lit room, but despised artificial light. The view was lovely and simple, just grass stretching out into trees.

Her room was uncluttered as she liked space and needed room for her yoga. A few white dressers were spread out and walk-in closet to the right as soon as you walked in from the door. There was also a large makeup desk with a huge mirror, and another full length mirror to the left of the window. There was also a bathroom past the walk in closet, that was cleaned almost every day by her maid, Susie.

She lay on her back, staring at the pristine white ceiling, absently fingering the small blanket she kept on her bed. It was her baby blanket, small and pink with little purple flowers dotting the fabric randomly.

The sun warmed her, streaming in from the window, lighting up her entire room. After about five minutes of staring absently at the ceiling, she got up and wandered to one of her dressers. She dug in the bottom drawer, and pulled out a pair of shorts and tank-top out. Then determined to act normal, she started her yoga, furiously blocking out any thoughts about vampires or Slaying or anything not relating to yoga.

The next couple of days, Cordelia avoided Giles and Wesley, but was noticeably less talkative and involved. Every time she tried to act normal, her thoughts were swarmed with what was happening to her. Plus she was exhausted. The dreams were even worse, no matter how she tried to drown them out. She woke up three times a night with images of _weird _stuff, images that she blocked during the day.

She avoided anything social and had even missed Cheer Practice. Cheer Practice!

Finally during another night of boredom with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company, Cordelia jumped off of her bed. She stared at herself in the mirror, forcing herself not to look away. She was in sweats for the third night in a row, hair pulled up in a bun with no makeup. She had huge circles under her eyes. She looked terrible. She looked as bad as Buffy!

She would not let this happen. Cordelia stormed to her closet, a flurry of clothes thrown every way until she found the perfect outfit. She would go to the Bronze and every boy would be drawn to her and it would be okay. Everything would be good.

Cordelia entered the Bronze, enjoying the feeling of having every eye on her. She smiled coyly at the quarterback for Sunnydale High, toying with the idea of talking to him. Some of the girls she mostly hung around with were in the corner, sipping Shirley temples and chattering happily. Cordelia bought a drink and then leaned against a table, surveying the crowd. Besides two football players the pickings were slim at best. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Angel in the back of the room looking anti-social and hot. She really didn't have the energy to attempt a conversation with him, so instead she decided to just enjoy the view.

Xander and Willow were at a table looking bored. Cordelia knew she really ought to attempt socializing with _someone, _but didn't have the inclination or the willpower. So instead she stayed in her spot listening to the music and sipping her drink.

About fifteen minutes later, Buffy appeared in her line of sight walking over to Xander and Willow's table. She was dressed very differently than normal. Even ...stylishly? Cordelia hated to admit it, but she loved her outfit.

Cordelia shifted her gaze to the quarterback in the corner playing pool with his buddy, watching his muscles contract as he fiddled with the pool stick. Curiosity got the better of her and her eyes wandered back to Buffy. She was now dancing with Xander rather ...provocatively.

Cordelia glanced behind her to take in Angel's reaction. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were locked onto her figure, occasionally sliding up to Xander's face. Cordelia's eyes narrowed as she observed everyone in the Bronze watching Buffy. This was not okay. Buffy whispered something in Xander's ear and then left him, standing motionless on the dance floor. Cordelia watched her until she left the Bronze. She grabbed her jacket, pulling it around her and then Fingers clenched tightly, she followed Buffy out, ready to rip her a new one. Only she was allowed to pull stunts like that.

She found Buffy striding away from her, clad in a warm coat. The alley that the bronze led out to surrounded them.

" Buffy. You're really campaigning for bitch of the year, aren't you?" Cordelia called to the retreating figure. **  
><strong>Buffy swung around to face her, looking smug. "As defending champion, you nervous?"  
>Even Cordelia had to smile grudgingly at this. " I can hold my own. You know, we've never really been close, which is nice, 'cause I don't really like you that much, but… you have on occasion saved the world and stuff, so I'm gonna do you a favor."<strong><br>**Buffy attempted to look disinterested "And this great favor is…"  
>"I'm gonna give you some advice. Get over it." Cordelia stated simply.<br>"Excuse me?"  
>"Whatever is causing the Joan Collins 'tude, deal with it. Embrace the pain, spank your inner moppet, whatever, but get over it. 'Cause pretty soon you're not even gonna have the loser friends you've got now. " Cordelia was starting to feel better.<p>

"I think it's about time you start minding your own business." Buffy said angrily.  
>"It's long past." She shrugged back at her. Buffy ignored her turning back around and walking away from her. She also pulled her hood up on her head snootily. Was that really necessary?<br>Deciding she wanted a parting shot, Cordelia called to the retreating figure " Nighty-night. I'll just see if Angel feels like dancing-" She was cut off mid-sentence as a pair of hands yanked her backwards, muffling her scream.

Caught of guard, the only thing Cordelia could do was thrash violently, trying to call to Buffy. She was dragged backwards, being restrained by more than two people. They finally released her, throwing her into some sort of secluded room, slamming a door behind them. Her hands were shaking and she had to bite her lip to keep it from trembling. Cordelia walked in a slow circle, surveying the room. It was crude and smelled terrible, stains of dried blood decorating the walls. She averted her eyes quickly and she noticed a figure slumped over in the corner. Cordelia crossed over to the figure quickly, trying to identify who it was. Miss Calender was unconscious, blood dripping from a cut on her forehead. Cordelia lifted her head up and slid her jacket under her, regretting she would totally have to burn it after this. Then she pulled her legs up to her chest and tried to collect her thoughts. After several hours, eventually she fell asleep, hoping_ someone _would eventually notice she was missing.

She awoke to Miss Calendar shaking her frantically, calling her name. Cordelia sat up, everything rushing back to her.

"Cordelia. Are you all right?"

She nodded blearily, pushing hair out of her eyes. "I'm...okay. What's going on? Why are we in here?"

Miss Calendar shrugged. She did not look good. "I'm not sure. It probably has something to do with an evil vampire's plan to take over the world."

Cordelia did not appreciate the joke. "Do you think we'll die? I don't want to die! Do you think they'll eat us? Oh I don't want to get eaten. This is all Buffy's fault! When I get out of here-"

Miss Calendar interrupted her forcefully. "Cordelia! I'm sure someone will notice we're missing. And if they wanted to kill us they would have by now. They want us for something else. Maybe a ritual."

"That's comforting." Cordelia muttered.

They'd stopped counting the hours when the door finally opened. Four vampires swarmed them. Cordelia managed to knock one down, but by the time she swung to hit another the whole world went dark.

Cordelia woke up on the floor, legs shackled to some sort of chains. She blinked groggily, trying to drown out the noise in her ears. A large figure was fighting someone to her right and to her left were four other figures, all squatting. Her head ached and all she wanted was a warm bath. She pushed herself up and took in her surroundings. They were in a large warehouse, on the second flight. She could hear fighting down below, and scuffling to her right. Willow, Xander, Giles, and Miss Calendar were to her right, getting shackles off.

Angel was to her right, fighting with a vampire. She was still tied up, but it looked as though someone had started untying her but had stopped abruptly. Absorbing all of this information, she started struggling viciously against her bonds. Angel must have finished off his opponent as the scuffling ceased. Fighting was still going on below.

Angel walked over to her and bent down to help her untie her hands. Cordelia smiled weakly at him, but he seemed preoccupied. As soon as he finished he sprinted off towards a flight of rickety stairs. Cordelia frowned in his direction, assuming he was heading to help Buffy.

She was extremely confused as to how they had gotten there or why they were there, but she was very grateful to still be alive. She bent down to work on unshackling her feet. Her companions had finished getting out of their bonds, and were standing up. Annoyance rose in her as they completely ignored her. They were gazing over the edge at whatever spectacle was going on below.

"Whatever. I'll just untie myself. Don't worry about Cordelia. No sir." She muttered grouchily, pulling at the iron that encircled her feet. Silence told her that the fighting had ended. The people beside her stared down at something she couldn't see, transfixed. Loud banging started up, as though a huge hammer was being slammed into a wall. Cordelia struggled even more to free her foot. She smiled victoriously when she succeeded and then stood up to look at what everyone was so interested.

Buffy had a huge sledgehammer which she was pounding onto a table. Cordelia looked more closely, and saw she was smashing the bones of some skeleton. Angel was standing behind her, watching her silently.

Cordelia was about to make a sarcastic comment, but something in Buffy's face stopped her. She looked so vulnerable. Buffy dropped her weapon, and turned to Angel, burying her head into his chest. They all stared uncomfortably, listening to her muffled sobs.

Not taking her eyes off of the girl whose shoulders heaved with emotion, Cordelia said to Giles in a steady voice

"**I'm in**."


	3. Chapter 3

The ceiling was spinning. It was not supposed to do that. Gasping for breath, Cordelia help up a hand at a nervous Wesley. "Let's _not _do that again."

Wesley pushed his glasses up farther and nodded. "Yes, perhaps we should slow down our, uh, training process."

Cordelia had just attempted a back somersault of of one of the bookshelves. Suffice to say, she had not landed well. She lay on her back, trying not to move. Her entire body was on fire. Wesley was rubbing his hands together, staring ahead blankly. _Fine, ignore the injured Slayer. _

"So we can call it a day?" She asked, groaning as she tested her fingers. Wesley nodded absently. Sighing, Cordelia stared at the ceiling.

_Whomp! _A huge stick slammed into her stomach. She yelled in pain, searching for the source of her attack. Giles was holding a giant pole thing and was already raising it to obviously hit her again. She rolled out of the way as it barely clipped her side. "What the hell, Giles?"

Giles calmly stepped towards her, pole in hand. "Do you really think a vampire is going to care if you're winded? There are no time outs in Slaying." He ended his sentence with an emphatic _whap _as his stick hit the ground where she had laid two seconds ago.

Growling, Cordelia forced herself to stand up. She was not in the mood for this. Giles swung again, and she jumped over the stick. She glared at him, irritatedly. "Quit it."

He didn't respond, but instead hit her in the side with his stupid pole. "I said knock it off!"

She caught the stick when he swung it again, trying to wrench it from him. Instead he twisted it from her grasp and knocked her feet out from under her. Panting, Cordelia tried to catch her breath while he prepared to swing again._ Fine, he wanted to play, she'd play. _

She flipped onto her feet and faced him, raising an eyebrow tauntingly. He swung his pole thing and she caught it before it collided with her chest. Then she twisted it up, pulling it out of his grasp.

"HA!" She crowed, pointing her new stick at him. Giles rolled his eyes.

Wesley, who had watched the events silently, spoke up. "Go practice on that dummy."

"I think Giles and I just practiced, didn't we?" Cordelia said, grinning gleefully at her insult.

Wesley stared at her blankly, until Cordelia sighed and walked over to the dummy think that Buffy practiced on. "No sense of humor. Must be an English thing." She muttered under her breath.

As she put on her sparring gloves, she glanced behind her. Giles and Wesley were whispering secretly to each other. Of course they were. It seemed that was all they did this week, aside from beating the crap out of her.

She'd gone to after school training every day for two weeks since she'd agreed to Slay. She'd told her parents that cheer practice was an extra hour or so because her team sucked so bad. And she came home sore and tired each day. Admittedly, the training was working. She felt stronger and fitter. More capable. However she was still getting used to her strength. The other day she'd ripped the shower curtain off, broken six glasses and pulled her doorknob off of her door.

As she laid into the fake person, she couldn't help but wonder what they were discussing. As she got more into the workout, she blocked out all thoughts and focused.

Sweating profusely, but feeling pumped, Cordelia wiped her face with a towel and glanced in her Watchers's? direction. Both men were talking quietly, occasionally looking at her and then returning to their conversation. Sighing, she slung the towel over her shoulder and walked over to them.

"Earth to Watchers. Can I go now?" She asked, still slightly out of breath.

Giles gave her an uncomfortable look. "Not quite. There are matters, that uh...need tending."

Cordelia's eyes narrowed. "Matters?"

Wesley cleared his throat. "Yes, er. We think it would be best to inform the uh other Slayer in the vicinity of your presence."

"My presence? I'm pretty sure Buffy knows I'm here. You mean you want to tell her I'm all freaky like her now?"

Giles shifted his glasses. "We think Buffy should know that you have...inherited things that she uh has? We're also discussing the possibility of you two working together."

He held up a hand before she could interrupt. "Now, now. I know it might be difficult at first, but it makes sense. It is senseless to train you two separately when you could learn from each other. I'm not going to listen to any protests. Wesley and I think it's a good idea and that's that."

Cordelia stared him down for a long moment and than rolled her eyes. "_Whatever._"

Giles glanced at his companion. "Buffy is on her way here. I told her we have something important to inform her of."

Cordelia growled under her breath but ceased at a sharp look from Wesley. She shot them both a pouting look and stalked away, putting her headphones back on.

Cordelia looked up from her crunches when she saw the door open and several people walk through. Pulling her headphones out, she sat up and watched them. For some reason Willow and Xander were accompanying the blond, abnormally short person.

Buffy walked over to where the two Watchers were standing. Cordelia stood up and wandered over to where they had formed a circle. She stood slightly behind Willow and Buffy watching silently.

Buffy cocked an eyebrow as she surveyed Wesley. "Who's this?" She asked Giles.

Giles fixed his glasses for the hundredth time and opened his mouth to speak, but Wesley answered first.

"I'm Wesley Wyndham Pryce. Miss Chase's new Watcher." _Well he just dived right in._

Xander gave his nervous laugh. "Why does Cordelia need to be watched?"  
>They all had similar expressions of confusion and Buffy prodded Giles. "What is he talking about?"<p>

Cordelia found it rather rude how instead of speaking to Wesley she asked Giles instead.

Giles cleared his throat. "It appears that Cordelia has become a Slayer."

All three teenagers erupted into speech, but Giles waved his arms trying to silence them. "Buffy, you did technically die for a very short period of time. A new Slayer must have been called. The person who was called was ...Cordelia."

Xander was the first to speak. "This is insane. We're talking about Cordelia, Giles. Obviously the powers that control hiring the new Slayer screwed up."

Willow nodded her agreement and Buffy took a deep breath. "This can't be happening. There's no way Cordelia's a Slayer. It's insane."

Wesley interrupted, "We're very sure that she is the new Slayer. It's the only logical explanation."

"Well even if she is, Cordelia can't slay. She doesn't know how. It's _Cordelia_." Buffy said dismissively.

Cordelia's hand balled into a fist, but before she could explode, Giles slammed his own fist onto the table.

"That is enough. Cordelia did not choose this and she has the best attitude out of you all. Starting from this moment you will stop being incredibly selfish and you will listen. This is happening and all three of you will deal with it and stop acting like insolent children. Buffy, you will train with Cordelia and I will not hear another word from any of you!"

There was a long silence as everyone in the room stared at Giles.

Then Willow timidly offered, "Welcome to the team, Cordelia." Giles nodded in approval.

The next day was uneventful, until Cordelia walked into the library after school. She wasn't delighted to train with Buffy, but she figured she didn't have a choice. Willow had become friendly enough, making uncomfortable small talk. Xander made snide jokes about her Slaying, but it was better than Buffy pointedly ignoring her. The other Slayer had refused to talk to Cordelia, and once Giles finished lecturing had left.

Slowly walking into the library, she saw Buffy hadn't arrived yet. Giles glanced up from the book he was reading and nodded in satisfaction. She was wearing shorts and a tank top, and her workout shoes. She had been showing up to train in expensive jeans or a skirt, with an adorable blouse. After being told of, she'd started bringing clothes to change into after school.

"Good. You can start practicing with the mace."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "When am I _ever_ going to use a mace?"

Giles gave her the 'do it or else' look, and she grabbed the mace wearily. It was an uncomfortable weapon, weirdly disproportionate. She preferred more graceful weapons.

As she was testing the weapon and trying not to kill herself, Buffy walked through the door. She glanced at Cordelia and then raised an eyebrow at Giles.

"Why don't you work over some simple moves with Cordelia?"

Buffy deftly put her hair up into a bun and turned to her. "Fine. I'll teach you how to work the crossbow."

Cordelia shrugged and followed Buffy to the weapons. She tossed a crossbow to Cordelia and she caught it easily. They spent the next half hour working on working and aiming, until Cordelia felt more comfortable with it. They were both so focused the tension eased and they were getting along okay. After the crossbow, they started working out. Cordelia worked on weights while Buffy did this weird aerobic routine. They worked in companionable silence for a while and when they finished, Cordelia found herself thinking that this could actually work.

Cordelia swiftly blocked Buffy's leg as it swung at her chest. As she threw it back, Buffy used her as leverage to flip and try to hit her again. Cordelia grinned and grabbed her outstretched hand, twisting her and then sweeping a leg against hers, sending the opposing Slayer sprawling.

Panting, Buffy rolled over and kicked both of her feet into Cordelia's chest. Cordelia flew several feet and landed on her back, wincing in pain.

They both lay still for a long moment, until Buffy got up to go check on the brunette. "You okay?" She asked, trying to hide a smile.

Cordelia pressed a hand to her side and said sarcastically. "Yeup. I feel great. Just a couple broken ribs, maybe some internal bleeding, no big deal."  
>Buffy reached out a hand and helped pull Cordelia up. "Don't be a baby. You're getting much better."<p>

Cordelia blew some hair out of her face. "Thanks. Now if you don't mind, I think I'll go home and die."

As she grabbed her bags, she had to admit that she was getting better. They'd been practicing together for about a week and a half, and they now had an uneasy friendship. Cordelia hadn't gone slaying yet, but Giles had said yesterday that she was almost ready. She was anxious and excited at the news. She just really hoped she didn't completely embarrass herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Cordelia breathed into her hands, cursing the fact that she hadn't brought gloves. Buffy was perched on top of a grave, swinging her legs idly, and Cordelia was sitting cross legged behind the grave, trying to get warm.

They'd been sitting here for almost 20 minutes waiting for this one vampire to rise. Slaying was a lot less exciting than Cordelia had thought it would be.

Cordelia opened her mouth and looked up to complain to the more experienced Slayer, but she fell silent when Buffy gasped. Angel had snuck up on them, as silent as a cat. Cordelia was mostly hidden behind the headstone, so she remained silent and watched.

Buffy scolded Angel for sneaking up on them and then explained why they were just sitting there. When Angel asked if Buffy was alone, Cordelia quickly smoothed down her hair, hoping she didn't look awful.

"Nope, Cordelia's with me." Buffy said, swinging her arms back and forth.

Angel's brow furrowed. "Cordelia? The cheerleader?"

Buffy sighed. "It's a long story."

Cordelia glared at Buffy and said, "I'm a Slayer."

Angel's mouth opened and he gaped at them. Buffy shot Cordelia an annoyed glare and grabbed Angel's arm. She then pulled him aside and started talking to him in a low, quick whisper.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, and rubbed her hands together more fiercely. Buffy was probably going to yell at her for telling Angel like that. It wasn't that big of a deal. Buffy probably just wanted to keep the whole "I'M the chosen one, I'm the only Slayer" thing going. Well sorry, Buffy, but there were two Slayer's now.

Cordelia's thoughts were cut off abruptly when a vampire jumped on top of her, clasping his hands around her throat. Gasping for breath, Cordelia tried to yell to Buffy and Angel but they were having an intense conversation and didn't notice.

Cordelia's hands scrambled in the dirt as she tried to gain leverage, her head weaving from side to side.

Finally she managed a kick on the vampires back, and she rolled them over so she was on top. Cordelia reached out desperately for a stake; however, the vampire pushed her and sent her flying backwards. She collided into a grave, and lay there dazed.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Angel and Buffy were having some sort of argument and didn't notice her in the slightest. It would have been comical if she didn't run the risk of being eaten by a vampire.

The vampire was approaching swiftly, and Cordelia scrambled up, head throbbing. She'd just gotten up as the vampire reached out to punch her. He was a new vampire, which meant he was extremely strong but uncoordinated. Cordelia pressed this to her advantage, ducking swiftly and rolling to get behind him. He spun around and she landed several blows on him, one after the other.

She continued ducking his punches speedily, bobbing and weaving to land several well placed blows. The vampire landed one harsh kick, and Cordelia crumpled, her leg erupting in pain. He grabbed her throat again, and she had even less strength to fend him off.

Behind her she saw that Angel had finally noticed she was getting her ass kicked. Great timing. He ran forwards, Buffy following him. Angel yanked the vampire off of her, sending him flying. Buffy scanned the area and yelled frantically "Where's my stake? I had a stake!"

Angel turned his head to look at her just as the vampire's fist collided with his face.

Cordelia sat up, rubbing her neck as Buffy battled the vampire, a flurry of kicks and punches. The stake she had been looking for had disappeared, but she spotted a shovel nearby. Rolling neatly, Cordelia grabbed it, and ran back to where Buffy was beating on the vampire. Pulling back the shovel, she plunged its handle into his back, and he burst into dust.

"OH MY GOD! DID YOU SEE THAT?" Cordelia squealed at the top of her lungs.

Buffy looked at her breathing hard. Cordelia ignored her puzzled expression, jumping up and down wildly.

"I staked a vampire! Wasn't that sooooo cooool?" Cordelia yelled, reaching down to help Angel up. She started doing a happy dance, jumping up and down in absolutely no rhythm.

Buffy smiled and Angel stared at Cordelia in amusement; however, Cordelia didn't care. She was unbelievably happy.

She started doing a little chant with her dance, moving farther and farther away.

"I am so cool!" Cordelia said gleefully, eyes alight with excitement. "I can't believe I- aah!"

She fell about 5 feet into an open grave, her back colliding painfully with the ground.

She opened her eyes to see Buffy and Angel staring down at her. "Ow?" She offered abashedly.

Buffy sighed and reached a hand out, pulling Cordelia out of the grave.

"Stupid vampires, leaving open graves wherever they feel like it." Cordelia griped, rubbing her sore back. "No offense, Angel."

Buffy ignored her, staring intently at the ground surrounding the grave. "I don't think it was vampires. It looks like someone was dragged."

Cordelia looked where Buffy was staring, identifying the drag marks. She bent down and picked up a white heel, offering it to Buffy.

"And just when I thought things couldn't get weirder." Buffy said with a sigh.

* * *

><p>Cordelia tucked her hair behind her ears, listening absently to Buffy recount what had happened last night. The empty grave belonged to a Meredith Todd, and Giles decided that they should have Willow look her up online. Cordelia waited impatiently for him to finish and then leapt out of her seat.<p>

"Okay enough about the mysterious grave." Cordelia snapped. She smiled widely, swaying back and forth. "Guess what else happened last night?"

Giles took his glasses off. "You killed a vampire. Yes, Buffy told me. Good job."

Cordelia scowled at Buffy. "I _told_ you to let me tell him! You ruined it. Thanks a lot."

Buffy and Xander shared an amused look and Buffy hopped off of a table. "Okay I'll go grab Willow."

Cordelia sighed. "I have to sign up for the stupid science fair. I'll go with you. Even though I'm very displeased right now."

Buffy shrugged and they left the library.

They found Willow standing talking to Darrell's younger brother, Chris. Cordelia reached out and grabbed a clipboard, writing down her project. She'd decided on "The Tomato-Fruit or Vegetable?" as her working title.

Buffy walked around her and started talking to Willow. Cordelia set her clipboard down and was about to walk over to them when some idiot walked over and flashed a camera in her face. Her hands flew to her face in protest. "Knock it off. We are under florescent lights, are you insane?"

He smiled in an irritating way and said, "The camera loves you."

Cordelia glared at him, and was about to retort, but Buffy grabbed her arm and she followed reluctantly.

Willow set to work immediately when they entered the library, and Cordelia sat near her watching with a bored expression. She spent the rest of her time inspecting her nails, trying to get the dirt from the night before out. She looked up when Willow was explaining how the girl from the empty grave had died.

Apparently she and several others had been killed in a car crash. The gang made plans to go dig up graves to see if any other corpses were missing.

Cordelia tapped Giles. "As much as I'm wanting to dig up graves and look for bodies, I have to go to cheer practice tonight. Can't I can skip out this one time?"

Giles frowned at her. "You are a Slayer now. You have certain responsibilities, you know that."

Buffy interjected. "Let her go, Giles. We don't need her tonight."

"Thanks, Buffy, I owe ya." Cordelia said, cheerfully. Xander glanced around. "I still can't get used to the words Slayer and Cordelia used in the same sentence."

She shot him a dirty look but didn't respond to the bait. "All right if that's all, I've gotta go. I'll come train tomorrow and you can tell me what you guys found."


End file.
